ESPN Big East Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Much better mailbag performance this week, guys. My question of what were the five best games in the Big East (conference action only) since 2005 generated some responses, so we'll start with those.

Rich Rodriguez from Michigan writes: If you are going to look at the best game since the shakeup of 2005 you have to look at the last Pitt - WVU game. I know it is an easy choice because of what WVU lost to a subpar Pitt team but I think ESPN really showed us how much was lost. To see tens of thousands of WVU fans sitting in their camo and hunters orange with tears running down their face as their realization that a national title game is not going to happen, priceless!

Brian Bennett: I'm guessing this isn't really Coach Rod. And another wild hunch is that you're a Pitt fan. Anyway, that game was a momentous upset and will be remembered for a long time. But it wasn't really well-played except by the defenses. The offenses failed to do much and there were missed field goals and some blown calls by the refs. It doesn't pass this key litmus test: If you weren't a fan of either team, would you want to watch the game again?

Justin from D.C. writes: Hey Brian, I'm definitely glad there's someone out there finally writing stuff about the Big East after VT/miami/BC left...it only took WVU spanking Georgia and Oklahoma to get it. :) My top 5 games since 2005 would have to be: 1)WVU/Louisville in 2005 because of Slaton's debut. I was there, and oh yeah, IT WAS AWESOME. 2)WVU/Rutgers in 06 ... again another 3OT game ... just nuts. 3)Rutgers/Louisville in 06 4) Pitt/UCONN in 06... lol gotta go with OT and uconn's great performance in their coming out party 5) I guess I've got to go with your Cincy/USF game in 07 also. Not like there were 10 to chose from. Only had about 7 great in conference games.

Brian Bennett: That's a pretty solid list there, Justin. Yep, there isn't a lot to choose from. But remember: Each team plays only seven league games and we're only talking about a three-year time span.

Nick from Parts Unknown writes: Brian, I would have to say last year's game between South Florida and WVU in Ray Jay deserves some consideration as one of the top BE games. I believe it was the first sell out crowd in team history and served as an announcement game for the program to the rest of the nation. From where I was sitting it appeared the entire stadium was on their feet for the duration, I know my section was. I know it is hard to consider some of the South Florida events as "historic" in the conference but that game was a legitimate milestone for an up and coming program. Go Bulls!!!

Brian Bennett: Nick, that was certainly a huge game in South Florida history, maybe the biggest ever and probably the Bulls' biggest home win ever. But, again, it wasn't the prettiest game aesthetically. Pat White got hurt and West Virginia had a lot of turnovers. A lot of that was the Bulls' ferocious defense, but I think it falls just short of the litmus test I mentioned moments ago.

Eric from San Diego writes: Is there any chance that Cincy can pull a Colorado and upset Oklahoma this weekend? I would also like to have seen the UC v. Rutgers game 2 years ago make the top 5 list.

Brian Bennett: You mean the 30-11 Cincinnati win in 2006? Great win for the Bearcats, but I don't think it makes the cut. Can Cincinnati beat the Sooners? They'll have to play a great game. I'll be writing much more about this on the blog all week, so I hope you'll stay tuned.

Nathan from Cincinnati writes: Brian - Been enjoying the blog since you took over, good job! Do you think the public's (And mainly the press) mind will change now about where UC will finish in the Big East? We are coming off back-to-back bowl winning seasons, 8-5 & 10-3 respectively. All 3 of our losses last year were by a TD or less. We have 12 starters returning on Offense/Defense along with AA Kevin Huber on Special teams. Now it is very obvious Pitt and UL are going to struggle mightily this year. UConn won but Lorenzen looked terrible. We've never lost to UConn, have beaten both USF and Rutgers the last two seasons (Along with getting both at home this year)... Syracuse might beat UL again this year and that's about it. Grutza I hope showed everyone in the EKU game that Brian Kelly is the reason Mauk put up great numbers. I hope the respect soon comes, do you agree?

Brian Bennett: I believe I picked Cincinnati to finish fifth, and I can certainly see the Bearcats finishing third or higher after the events of the first weekend. But let's remember that Cincinnati hasn't played an FBS team yet. We'll know a whole lot more after this weekend's game at Oklahoma.

Brian from Mt. Washington, Ky., writes: What's the latest on Steve Kragthorpe? I want this guy to leave and he won't do anything good at UL.

Brian Bennett: The latest is he's still the head coach and is going to be for the foreseeable future. Deal with it.

Craig from Cincinnati: Why was Pitt ranked in the Top 25 in the preseason? Losing record last year. What changed that (I seriously do not know, did they get some great transfers or Frosh)? But also, they have Dave Wannstadt as their coach. I would not let Wannstadt coach a peewee team. If Wannstadt was the Ohio State coach, I'd almost guarantee 5 losses for OSU. The guy is horrible. When will people realize this?

Brian Bennett: Well, I don't think there's exactly a groundswell of support for Wannstedt's coach of the year chances right now. I don't vote in the top 25, but I wouldn't have put Pittsburgh in to start the season, even though I was very high on them this preseason. Here's why people liked them: Yes, they went 5-7 last year, but they were close in a lot of games, brought everybody back and have been recruiting like gangbusters. Also, they got their quarterback and best wide receiver back from injuries. They should be a lot better than what we saw on Saturday.

Mark V. from Morgantown, W. Va writes: Agree that the West Virginia defense has to improve, which we could say about 80-90 percent of all defenses in the nation after week one. That being said you gotta be fairly picky to point out many negatives after the Villanova game. The defense was very good in the second half and came up with big turnovers. Most teams in college football are going to move the ball at times even against stellar D's. All in all we won't have any idea how WVU's D is going to be this year until the East Carolina game next week. That game will tell a lot.

Brian Bennett: Mark, I agree that we'll learn a lot more this week. But let's not gloss over the fact that West Virginia gave up 21 points at home to an FCS team, and it probably should have been more like 27 points. I wasn't the only one who found fault with the defensive effort in the first half. Here's what Bill Stewart said went wrong with the defense, as quoted by Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"Finishing plays. The chemistry. Where we're going to be. Banging receivers. 'Backers [covering] underneath. Safeties inconsistent. Hesitant with some blitzes. We just have to get [all] that better.

"It looked to me like we were (running) sideways. Our minds and our feet weren't in cohesion. Our defense needs to carry our offense. Our defense has to pick it up and go. We're going to get better next week [for East Carolina]. I'm sure they're looking at that film and going, 'Wow.' "

Glen Daniel from Parts Unknown writes: Why does WVU not get much love from ESPN -- look at what we have done the last few years: 2 BCS bowl victories in 3 years, 5 straight New Year's Day bowls, 11 wins three years running ...

Brian Bennett: Thanks, Glen. I was starting to think a week would go by without a "Why doesn't West Virginia get more respect" question.